PSG star Neymar could reportedly see his massive £600,000-a-week wage packet slashed in half amid financial issues from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil star is the highest paid player in Ligue 1 and one of the highest paid in the world after his £198million move from Barcelona in 2017.
And, according to ESPN, discussions between France's National Union of Professional Football Players (UNFP) and the country's Ministry of Economy and Finance have led to an agreement to recommend a temporary reduction of salaries to professional players and clubs.
As a result, players earning between £8,700 and £17,500-a-month (between 10,000 and 20,000 euros) after partial unemployment would take a 20 per cent cut, while those on sums between £17,500 and £43,900 (20,000-50,000 euros) would take a 30 per cent salary reduction.
However, those on salaries between £43,900 and £87,700 (50,000-100,000 euros) would suffer a 40 per cent hit and anyone earning more than that – which includes Neymar, at 50 per cent.
Partial unemployment, which means players earn roughly 70 per cent of their usual wage, has enabled state money to aid the most vulnerable clubs, but it will not hold for the foreseeable future with no return date set.
“The idea is that the players defer part of their April salaries to allow the clubs to get by,” UNFP president Philippe Piat told Agence France Presse earlier this week, before calling it “a temporary effort” due to the “urgent health situation.”
Many of Ligue 1's highest earners are PSG players with the top 11 all coming from the French champions.
Neymar is easily the highest paid as he earns around £2.6m a month before tax. That equates to a weekly salary of around £600,000.
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Second comes Kylian Mbappe who earns something in the region of £375,000-a-week before player bonuses.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
